The Importance of "Again"

2 Kings 22

How many English words start with the small prefix re-!  And the same holds true for our Biblical vocabularies: reform, restore, redeem, reconcile, renew … repent.  

Re- means “again.” Life is filled with things that need doing, and doing again, and again.

This week’s Let’s Go! text, 2 Kings 22, is a re- story.  God’s people have fallen into idolatry … again.  The Temple, long neglected, is in need of repairs … again.  God’s Word, long ignored, needs to be heard … and put into faithful practice … again.

Josiah is one of the few good kings we meet in the Old Testament (or in the New, for that matter).  He rules over a much-reduced nation, a small nation surrounded by powerful global forces.  Unlike so many of his predecessors, including his own father, Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David” (verse 2).  Among the words that characterize his life and reign are two re- words, repentance and renewal.

Repent: the root –pent (think “penitent”) means to be deeply sorry for wrongs done or rights left undone, and to determine not to continue in those mistaken ways.  Repent means this is the sort of thing we need to do again and again!  We needn’t be surprised by this, shouldn’t be surprised.  The Good News of Jesus begins with some bad news about us, followed immediately by great news about what God has done to rectify us.  Being set free from all the ways we all continue to live under the power of sin is not a once-and-done matter; repentance is a way of life for followers of Christ.

When King Josiah is confronted by God’s Word, his immediate response is repentance: he tears his royal robes and weeps in God’s presence.  And commits himself to living more faithfully to the LORD and his Word.  And God answers the king’s repentance with renewal.

Renewal: a fresh start, new beginning, getting back on track.  King Josiah leads his people in a ceremony of covenant renewal (2 Kings 23:1-3).  He and the people agree with God’s assessment: “We have broken God’s covenant with us.”  Knowing that their God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and rich in merciful love, they repent, they turn away from what they and their ancestors have done (and failed to do) and turn back to the LORD.  And new life from God begins flowing again, transforming what happens inside the Temple, inside their hearts and lives, and throughout the life of their community.

For all those willing to deal with God on God’s terms, there is no end of fresh starts and clean slates, of new beginnings that lead to new life.

When it comes to being a follower of Jesus, what is one thing you need to do … again?

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